Three jailed for a series of burglaries across London (From Harrow Times)

Three Harrow men jailed at Harrow Crown Court for committing a series of burglaries

4:02pm Monday 7th January 2013 in News By Emma Innes

Three men from Harrow who stole around £150,000 in a  series of burglaries at commercial properties have been jailed - and could face deportation.

Elton Kalaj, 27, of Churchill Place, was jailed for five and a half years after being found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary.

Arben Lecini, 35, of Cannons Lane, Pinner, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary and was jailed for two and a half years.

Klodian Haliti, 30, of Station Road, admitted conspiracy to commit burglary. He was jailed for two years.

The sentences were handed down at Harrow Crown Court following a three-month investigation by officers from the Metropolitan Police Serious and Organised Crime Command.

Police are now working with the Border Agency to find out if the gang are guilty of immigration offences.

Investigators discovered an organised criminal network behind a number of burglaries in commercial properties across London and the Home Counties.

Detectives identified a common modus operandi used to target safes.

The crimes were usually carried out in the late evenings when the three Harrow men and five others would arrive at each building via a service road and disable the alarms before using power tools to gain access.

Several of the gang members would then keep watch while the safes were loaded into their vehicle using special lifting equipment.

The safes were then taken away to be emptied.

Officers believe that the men were responsible for more than one burglary a week during a three-month period.

Detective Sergeant Graeme Simpson from the Metropolitan Police's Serious and Organised Crime Command said: "These were a group of highly organised burglars who met regularly to plan their criminality together.

“They stole approximately £150,000 cash over the three-month period between mid-December 2011 and mid-March 2012, but the cost of damage to the businesses in terms of repairs, lost revenue and staff costs has been estimated at hundreds of thousands of pounds.

“Thanks to the close liaison with our partners, we were able to identify and link these series of burglaries and put a stop to them.

“We will now work with the UK Border Agency to identify immigration offences and where appropriate get them deported."